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i gave this a 9, they followed the manga well until the end, my only complain is that it has only few fighting scenes across 64 episodes, but to be fair most BONES anime are like that the action scenes are very well animated but they are only few

NOTICE
Bold letters refer to names of series or characters. If you donít get it, it ainít my fault.

PROLOGUE

The king is dead. Long live the king!
I never imagined saying that about one of my tops in a span of less than 10 years, much less for a remake. Yet life is full of surprises and behold, I now have this ranking exactly where the previous version stood.

If you happen to be paying attention to remakes, you may notice that most of the times they feel inferior to the original series. The feeling of excitement is not there because you already know the story. Yet, in this situation we had not JUST a remake but a far more close to identical adaptation to the source material, which is of course a manga. You see, the first series was made when the story was still mid-way and thus had to resolve to an original timeline, which ended up having no relation to the manga. Which is not a bad thing if itís done right. It could always stop when it covered all the material at the time, or it could turn to the usual solution all milking fighting shounen run off to at the drop of a hat. Killers Fillers, the dreadful monsters that murdered Rurouni Kenshin, Inu Yasha, D Grey Man and turned all the others from Viagra to sleeping pills. Well, the first series wasnít that purist but all things considered it had a pacing than made all action/adventure up to that moment to look like retarded snails crawling on our faces, covering us with disgusting saliva and still claiming to be entertaining.

Anyways, if I could describe the main differences between FMA (henceforth A) and FMAB (henceforth B) those would be that the later has much faster pacing and an overall more complicating and engrossing story that ends in a far more satisfying way.

ART & SOUND SECTIONS: 8/10 (A gets 9 for being more detailed)
I wonít write too much here; I care very little about these sections to begin with. The production values were great in A and still are in B. High amount of detail and fluidity, with very well drawn backgrounds and character figures and a rather high amount of well-made cinematics as atmosphere building. There are some sloppy scenes with lots of still frames and the SD slapstick moments may feel overdone. Also the backgrounds and the characters are in various cases rather run down, simplistic, done with low quality filters or in overall with less attention than in A. But these are not damaging the whole that much. Also, the way all modern anime are made today I am even willing to consider the complete lack of erotic humor and nude to be a major plus too. Almost everyone is drawn handsomely and there is a token loli and mascot critter for the mainstream fans but even those are still not presented as a freaking brothel that distracts you from the actual story and character immersion. Banzai! Also, the series blends in various cultures and nationalities and yet it does not feel disjoined as it usually does in anime that throw in ideas at random. There is uniformity and a good excuse for everything looking the way they do. Voice acting and music score remain amazingly good although I will never whistle to their tunes.

STORY SECTION: 9/10 (A gets 7 for the incomplete story and the annoying fillers)

Imagine you, wanting to go get a beer from the fridge. How much time would it take to do that? Assuming you are not living in a huge villa, tied to a pole and/or all doors and windows are locked, it would take around 5 seconds. Now imagine Frieza telling you that your beer will explode in 5 minutes yet 5 hours later, the beer is still intact. Time generally flows in slow motion in anime and not only because the characters canít shut their traps for a change. Fillers, dragging, looping, flashbacks, internal dialogues and a million different excuses to make you incapable of drinking a simple can of beer in less than 24 episodes. B dared to skip all that crap and go straight to the point. You want a freaking beer? You freaking get it in the same episode.

That aside, the actual story is ingenious and really full of deep shit you would never expect in an average show. I know most anime are full of interesting ideas and concepts but very few actually manage to do something with them. Most just throw them in as extra shock value and poor excuses to show off as smart or matureÖ and do a sappy job with them. Beats me what the fuss was all about in anime like The book of Bantorra or Karas. The main story is about finding a magic trinket to gain back lost body parts and even resurrect the dead. But as the story goes on, it is no longer about that. It is about the meaning of life itself in a way and how each one pursues happiness or perfection in his own personal way. Itís not a unique premise; itís like that in other series like One Piece for example. But over there the objective is unseen and impersonal to the point of not caring about it after awhile. Plus, it reached a gazillion episodes and no exposition of what the hell is going on with it was shown. No more!

Moving along, almost everything in this series is excused. Yes, itís a series where people use magic to turn water to wine and dirt to spears; yet the inner workings of such a thing are excused to a basic level of understanding. They even offer some scientific explanations to excuse it even further. So, when Ed uses alchemy to soften the diamond-hard shield of an enemy he makes sure to explain how carbon works to make that possible and not the DBZ type of excuse ďMy Power Level is bigger than yoursĒ. Furthermore, although alchemy looks in practice a lot like chakras and jutsus in Naruto, the superpowers are never overused to a point where a character is defined only by his special move. Plus, there is actual strategy in battles here, unlike there where 99% of the so called tactics is making clones of you and exchanging places with a log.

Finally, there are various side stories and they are all resolved in the end. No open endings or half-baked solutions, like in most series or even the A itself. All of which in far less than 600 episodes, most of which are dead time. So yeah, it is a masterful work that is glitched at some points by the way the plot may or may not move too fast or too slow and the emotional impact on you may or may not be as strong as it should haveÖ or whatever.

Many viewers complained how B goes much faster than A and loses a lot of the emotional impact the old series had. I wonít deny this but it still dwarfs the fact of not having fillers popping every now and then. No matter which episode you watch, you actually see progress that does not fit in a single sentence (using a hundred ďandĒ is a cheap move; does not count). In a few words, the pacing of B may feel too fast (or too slow if you so much want to bitch at it no matter what) at times but it is done in a way to both tell the story and offer time for immersion without allowing you to stroll around the house waiting for something to happen. Fans of the old series still find it less exciting and seem to miss the simple fact that the effective duration of B is far closer to 100% that A. And I happen to prefer the term ďfasterĒ to the term ďhalf-deadĒ.

Also, even though I love even the original timeline A went for, I must admit it was full of unexplained motivations. Why couldnít the homunculi leader (in A it was a woman) make the philosopher stone herself the second time? Why did she killed all those looking for it when in fact she wanted it to be made? What did the homunculi want? How would they turn human again? Why did they keep their human remains around if it was killing them? And stuff like thatÖ

Finally many disliked the ending as they found it too normal and simple. Well I am sorry for not seeing Al throwing galaxies to Father, who has created a 11-dimensional black hole or something. The themes were fine, the resolution was reasonable and the final battle was long and exciting. Not being epicly epical epic epicness in terms of explosions is not a minus.

Oh and by the way, I keep receiving these feedbacks about having the story too high at marks because I compare it only with shounen series. Well, with what should I compare it too? The Iliad or the Romance of the Three Kingdoms? Itís an action/adventure anime and itís the best in overall in this regard. Giving it any less for following the tropes of the genre (in a very good way I must say) is like blaming a comedy for making me laugh. Yes, itís less serious than Legend of Galactic Heroes and people in it clap hands and shit changes to chocolate mousse. As I said, the inner workings of all that are well excused and the effective duration is close to perfect, so let it be already.

CHARACTER SECTION: 10/10 (A gets 8 for the unclear motivations of the villains and the addition of useless filler characters)

I will tell you something that is not a secret or anything, yet very few seem to be aware of. A good character is not only about good looks. You get tired of that pretty fast. It doesnít take more than a few years for a pretty chick in some anime to lose its appeal by the next pretty chick that comes out in a newer series. You hear than Queenís Blade?

It is more about an interesting personality; it is harder to get over a colorful persona. But eventually even that happens one day anyway. Sorry Lina Inverse; itís not my fault you are so flat in more areas than your chest.

That is when you look for truly memorable characters. Those who have a goal they strive to achieve and progress towards it. Now, the word progress is something most have a really wrong image about. Son Goku gets blond, oh look, he is now different. Uzumaki Naruto changes a blouse after four years, oh look, he has changed a lot.
ÖBullshit; they are the exact same people as before. They didnít get smarter, wiser, or more careful in their actions.

So this is what makes FMA cast so great. The all mature as characters. From the most superficial detail such as changing clothes, down to the core, like personal impressions of something, goals in life and deep stuff like that. In a span of merely ten episodes you get so much progress that most series out there canít even see with binoculars and neon light arrows flashing above the target. So the FMA cast has all the elements of a great cast. You like pretty boys and girls? Sure, lots of those. Do they have quirky behaviors? You bet! Do they mature, grow older, wiser, smarter? Uh-huh! Do they have variety in all that or are they all slight variations of one another? Nobody is the same! Did most of them appear out of thin air? Nah, they all have backdrops excusing their place in the story. And do they all get their issues resolved at the end? Yup! Code Geass air-filled sex dolls, eat my dust; lol.

Self-realization is very powerful for most and that can lead to some very emotionally powerful moments. Not to mention how many of the cast is actually killed and never returns back to life with some shmuck way. This is in fact a core difference with the older series, where even the dead could return to life as easy as peanuts. Over here, if you are dead there is no Jesus raising from the grave. They may yearn for it all the time but it never happens. That is what makes this version a far more mature and solid one.

Another thing is how even small fries end up affecting the story. It usually is about the powerful few protagonists doing all the hard work as the rest of the world just eats pop-corn and watches them fight. Well no sir, not here. In this story even the meekest of characters actually does something. They may not all have an army behind their backs, super laser beams to level those who oppose or Geass eyes to convince others of how cool they are. Yet they actually do something! From digging trenches to stall the enemy, to secretly gathering information about his weakness, to even taking up arms when they canít take this shit any longer. Heck, the villains themselves need to resolve to deception all the time exactly because they know they canít just openly terrorize them no matter how powerful they are. Now THIS is what I call an interesting all-round cast. Marvelous! Nothing alike that parade of cardboards that is Bleach or Naruto.

I will not deny that some characters like Envy and Sloth were far more detailed and colorful in A but B can easily counter this by having double as many characters, most which also develop on their own, while leaving aside all the filler characters that offered nothing more to it.

VALUE SECTION: 10/10, ENJOYMENT SECTION: 9/10 (A gets 9 and 8 for all the reasons stated above)
I admit that it had boring parts or was partially not as emotional as the first series. It is still almost entirely captivating and a fine example of how great action/adventures should be madeÖ in less than 600 episodes. It is almost a crime not to place this in the top adventures of all times. Replay value is very high, as there are so many events and character motives that there is no way to remember them all in one go. Plus, it will show how awesomely planned out every event was made to be since the beginning. It is nothing alike the average shounen out there, brimming with fillers, dragging, ass-pulling and random power-up panaceas. If Dragonball created the golden formula of a successful shounen series, then FMA transmutated it into a marvelous crown, full of jewels and decorations, fit only for itself and those rare few who can only hope to mimic half of its glory.

OVERALL SCORE: 9/10

///////////////////////

Extra section. Comparison of episodes between old and new series in correspondence to the manga. Yes, I have no lifeÖ
B=episode in FMAB, A= episode in FMA, M= manga chapter

Spoiler:

B1 is essentially a filler. It is not present in A or M and itís just a flashy introduction of all the main characters. Rather misleading as kickstart for it gives you the impression it will be a heavy-action series. But anyways, it is a cool way to attract the ones unfamiliar with the story and almost eye candy for the already established fans.

B2 corresponds to A3 or M24. In A, it was decided for the past of the brothers to be revealed much sooner. In B, as soon as the real story begins!

B3 corresponds to A1-2 or M1-2. It has some minor differences but to its core it shows the exact same events in half the time. Rushed? Itís a hit or miss.

A4 is a filler episode that would offer nothing if it was kept in B. A5-6 or M4-6 are skipped entirely. A good move I must say as the terrorist on the train and the alchemist exams were overall lukewarm as events. A9 or M3 is actually taken as a flashback in B38; a smart way to save time around an also minor event.

B4 corresponds to A7 or M6. B remained faithful to M whereas A decided to leave alchemist Tucker and his daughter alive and had them return later as side characters in A21. B did well not to copy this, as those two didnít really offer anything more to the series.

A8 is a filler episode. It was a good one although Barry looked entirely different as a human in M and B and the idea of dressing as a woman was better shown in Monster; so not really a problem. A9-12 are also fillers with lukewarm plot; so good reddens to those. A13 is in reality comical shorts, taken from the omake pages at the end of some manga volumes. It was a very funny episode.

B5-14 corresponds to A14-34 or M7-31. It has some minor differences but to its core it shows the exact same events in half the time. Rushed? Not at all; I loved it. The only downside is how B showed rather rushed the murder of Hughes. In A21 the plot starts to spin off to its own storyline with the return of Tucker, who in M and B was dead. After A34, it becomes a totally irrelevant story.

B15-26 corresponds to M32-53. Very good adaptation. B27 is a summary; nuff said. B28-64 corresponds to the rest of the manga in an also very good way. I found it funny how they included the ex-military officerís plot in B38 from A9 or M3 instead of making an entire lukewarm episode.

I give this remake of FMA a 10 considering that they've followed the manga much more closely, resulting in a more compelling story revolving around themes of alchemy, mixed with character ambition and goals, the meaning of life and such under Arakawa's direction of course. I truely like it for the new presentation of the manga content as I felt the manga was good and this adaptation felt very close to it. Characters are developed all well and logical in progression so I have no problems there.

There are certainly a few problems, particularly the first 13 episodes leaving a pretty rushed and misleading impression of the same introductory content as the first series. For example, Hughes development felt pretty rushed and I sort of cared less what happened in result compared to the first series. However, this was only the beginng and as such, it's not until the series diverges into the new, not seen in first season, manga content that really upped the ante of the series by a lot in quality from storytelling to characters.

Again, actionwise, the series does it well, being pretty balanced and tactical with enough variety of alchemy spells and action skills in fights. While presentation overall, is excellent even though I felt the facials of the characters did feel a bit too rounded and a little lacking detail for my liking. Otherwise, FMA:B is a top favourite of my anime list for sure.

I'm giving it a 9 simply based on the two anime series (nothing to do with any kind of manga influence)
Call this an 'anime only' review, which meant I wasn't bitching and whining with the first series cause it didn't follow the holy book of the manga.
I wasn't constantly comparing about which frames got animated and what didn't, nor did I care about any of all of that randomness.
I took all the hits, surprises, blows and mindfucks (and boy were there some) as they came for both series, hence this is my impression

Well for one, the first series was the first, I knew no better with the manga storyline, so the world, the homoculous' the theme and pace of the series was fine with me. Not to mention as the first released, it etched an eternal spot in my heart that, the excitement and rush of it all couldn't be replicated with Brotherhood. Brotherhood was like coming back to a loved family, seeing the guys all over again, this time in a completely different adventure.

Brotherhood for me in its own self was amazing though. Now I know why Arakawa never shows her face ever, she's a pure sadistic bitch who puts her characters through Hell and suffering no human should endure. They all mentally breakdown, they all are pushed within inches of their lives, they all see absolute despair, but that's what made the show sweet when we see the sheer willpower and strength of human beings (I beleive her message was to somepoint).

It's inspiring in that sense, and something I do give credit for. A very complex plot, twists beyond anything and alike many deep throught out, sucessful stories (well FMA1 had more of this nuance), we see that the lines between 'good and evil' aren't so clear cut.
Life is not that simple.

It's a 8/9 from me, based on the fact it got waaaay too Evangelion like at the end, I joked with my mate when I was done with the series saying:

"So wait, at the end of this all, it was about a black dude who had beef with a white dude and so, sought to destroy humanity just to get some freedom?! Yeah, I'd rather have the 1st series overall message then, than this, lol"

Another aspect was no matter how hard I tried, the characters from Xing really didn't leave an impression on me. Perhaps because unlike Scar's race, there was no historical link or introduction to their world, I was disconnected with it and didn't care if they were there or not (of course she created them for them to play their part).
But the 4 of them (exc the panda) didn't do it for me.
On the otherhand, it was lovely to see more of Scar's people, race, beliefs and teachings evolve throughout the series that led to them playing their part in the final battle.

Perhaps a 9 was too giving from me since I'm besotted with Ed anyways, lol.8.5 would be accurate, but as a show in itself, it definitely is an amazing series, an amazing world and storytelling from an incredibly talented individual.
Makes me glad to have been part of it all as part of the anime scene from 2003-2010

__________________

Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere. - Van Wilder"If you ain't laughin', you ain't livin'." - Carlos Mencia

The beginning of the serie (the 15-20 first episodes) were a bit dull due to having watched the first season (which, as it expanded and took its time on them, managed to make them more interesting).
But once the series bifurcated and we could see this one filling its shoes, MY it was just GREAT.

This serie as a bit of it all : action, emotion, plot, twists, production values, cast and the like.
It managed to have the component of so many shows, but without falling in many usual traps, and managing some large achievements (like having a HUGE cast and still not abandonning half of it into irrlevance). The last arc was just EPIC and one of the most satisfying of any serie.

It may not be my absolute prefered show, but it's the one that is the "best rounded" so to speak, having no actual glaring flaw that grate my nerves, and managing the feat to be what so many would like : being great of its own and still potentially pleasing to everyone.

first off, i have never read the manga and have only watched the 2003 FMA anime adaptation and the movie.

ok, at least bones kept true to their word it would be a faithful anime adaptation to its original source. there were many things i was not content with, and some of it is due to how the author wrote the story. i saw the whole 'uniting countries together who were once at war with each other' the moment they revealed ishbal, xing, and drachma (which i get the feeling they will never have a peaceful diplomatic relationship with amestris). i've read and watched many movies and books using that same plotline over and over. i tried to endure it too when mustang was gathering allies to attack central via coup d'etat. again, i saw that coming a mile away. there was no suspense for me until i fully watched the last 2 episodes. i had to skim through episodes, and my inner thoughts were "uh-huh. yup. ok i knew that was going to happen. next! ohhh, fight scene. ok. next!".

as for the anime adaptation itself, there were some episodes i watched all the way through and felt sometimes, if not most of the time, the music was not used or controlled properly in certain scenes or felt out of place. most people underestimate how music can have a major impact during certain scenes. episode 26, for example, was a very powerful scene due to how it was silent until edward popped back out with the ED playing in. again, very powerful.

there is more i would like to write about, but i will end it right here. i have very mixed feelings about the whole thing due to how long the author took to gather allies (snooze fest to me), and various other things. it left a very sour taste in my mouth, so to speak. maybe, as how this board says it, it was not my cup of tea. so i will not give it any rating.

Itís still not doing it for me. Iím probably going to get crap for this, since itís heretical to say anything bad about it here, but I still donít see how this anime is supposed to be this nigh-perfect, criticism-immune work, thatís supposedly the pinnacle of the medium. When I break down the various constituent qualities I can name several anime that are better than Brotherhood. Brotherhood may make it into my top 100, but thereís no way that I agree that itís anywhere near as good as everyone says it is.

Music
A lot of people prefer this rendition because it follows the manga more closely, but then if I wanted to read the manga, then Iíd read the manga. A straight adaption of a manga can be great in its own right, but generally, it has to add something in terms of music or animation quality in order to fully utilize the animation medium. In that regard, Brotherhood isnít anything special. Any anime that features an original soundtrack composed by Yuki Kaijura or Yoko Kanno, such as Madoka, Kara no Kyoukai, Eureka Seven, FMA 2003, Noir, or Cowboy Bebop, far outstrips it in that category. For Brotherhood, I canít even remember any tracks and itís only been one month since I watched it. I can remember many of the tracks from Naruto, despite its fairly unremarkable soundtrack, and I havenít seen that anime in eight years.Rating: Below Average

Animation
Animation has always been an extremely subjective category, but weíre going to claim that Brotherhood is objectively better than anything else, as many in the fanbase would, than we might as well go into it. At least as far as my tastes are concerned, FMA 2003, a series that outages it by five years, is far more aesthetically pleasing. Brotherhood doesnít really do anything special or abstract in terms of its animation style, as Madoka does, and its production value isnít outrageously high as in Fate Zero. The animation seems to be average.Rating: Average

World Building
The world building in Brotherhood is admittedly above average, though then again, so was FMA 2003ís, though I actually preferred the world building in the later. Likewise, the world building in Twelve Kingdoms and in the combined Nasuverse canon is far better than that found within Brotherhood, in that, like the Potterverse, you could literally fill additional books with information on the world alone. This is, nonetheless, one category in which Iíd view Brotherhood in being far above the average, which is why it gets its own category.Rating: Above Average

Story and Characters
The story really didnít impress me that much. So, a teenager organizes a rag tag team of misfits to fight against an antagonist attempting to become a god. That sounds likeÖthe plot of every JRPG that I grew tired of several years ago. If it didnít impress me when I played Final Fantasy VII back in 2003, then it certainly doesnít impress me now. On that topic, God forbid, Sephiroth is actually a better villain than Father is. It makes me feel dirty even implying that Sephiroth is a good villain, but at least his characterization in Crisis Core moved him beyond being interesting simply because he walked through a wall of fire as his theme music played in the background.

Father doesnít have even that. He has no sympathetic qualities to relate to, so his status as a fully developed 3-dimensional character is non-existent. But thatís okay. Some villains are interesting simply because of the dread that they inspire. Father doesnít even have that. He isnít the kind of character that you love to hate, like the disgustingly evil villain, Vidal, of Panís Labyrinth. He isnít charismatic like Heath Ledgerís portrayal of the Joker. He doesnít even inspire small children to stand in awe at how cool he is like Darth Vader. Heís just sort of there.

So Father wants to gain unlimited power, while killing a large amount of people in the process? Big deal; get in line. Why should I care? Watching television, reading books, and playing video games, I go through several villains who want to kill a lot unanimous red shirts. I donít even remember most of them. At least your average, hackneyed, Final Fantasy villain does something to the protagonist to make it personal. Father just sits around on his throne for most of the series, before deciding that heís motivated by one of the most clichťd goals in Japanese fiction. He almost came off as a Designated Villain because I Just. Didnít. Care. About him. Thatís kind of bad, since a lot of people would say that a good story is created by a good antagonist or conflict. Can you imagine the Dark Knight without the Joker? The Lion King without Scar? Star Wars without Darth Vadar? Well, I can, and itís horrible. Heroes are typically passive while villains drive the plot, so if you have a boring villain who sets up a boring conflict for the hero to fight against, then the result is predictablyÖboring.Rating: Average (Just adapt Tales of Symphonia or Final Fantasy 6 and youíd get the same level of quality)

Conclusion:
Below Average Music + Average Animation + Above Average World Building + Average Story = indisputably, the best anime ever made? LOL Whut?

I think the more extreme members of the fandom need to get off their high horse and accept that their high opinion of the show is subjective. Either that or watch more anime. As for me personally, though, Iím rating it as an above average shonen. No more, no less.

Conclusion:
Below Average Music + Average Animation + Above Average World Building + Average Story = indisputably, the best anime ever made? LOL Whut?

I think the more extreme members of the fandom need to get off their high horse and accept that their high opinion of the show is subjective. Either that or watch more anime. As for me personally, though, Iím rating it as an above average shonen. No more, no less.

So, basically...

Quote:

Conclusion:
I was disappointed because I went into this anime with completely unrealistic expectations that could've never been met.

Despite being but a vocal minority, I'm somehow the spokesman of objectivity.

Nice.

Anyway, not that I care enough to try and change your opinion of the series, but, while I agree that Father was a fairly underwhelming villain, there were, you know, other characters, many of which received plenty of multi-dimensional characterisation and sympathetic qualities. Seemingly basing the entirety of your assessment of the story and cast's merits on a single character seems just a tad bit flawed, wouldn't you say?

Also, and this is just a side comment, I find it slightly amusing how you scoff at stories where the heroes try and stop the would-be gods antagonists yet sport a Xenogears avatar.

So you think if people love Fullmetal Alchemist they haven't seen enough anime. I find that pretty condescending.

If you are indeed a "fan" and not a "fanboy/fangirl", then you have nothing to be offended about. And there's a fine line between the two. A fan is someone who enjoys a particular series, while a fanboy is someone who thinks that their series of interest is objectively better than anything else, and responds to any claim to the contrary as if it was a personal attack. FMAB fanboys, and for that matter, Naruto and Bleach fanboys are generally fanboys because they haven't sampled enough anime. The same is true for most Twilight fanatics, who often haven't sampled a large amount of books and thus have an awful basis of comparison.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight

I was disappointed because I went into this anime with completely unrealistic expectations that could've never been met.

I won't deny it.

Quote:

Despite being but a vocal minority, I'm somehow the spokesman of objectivity.

The popularity of a work has nothing to do with the quality level, or else Naruto would be better than the vast majority of the obscure anime out there. FMAB, much like Naruto, is overrated.

Quote:

Anyway, not that I care enough to try and change your opinion of the series, but, while I agree that Father was a fairly underwhelming villain, there were, you know, other characters, many of which received plenty of multi-dimensional characterisation and sympathetic qualities. Seemingly basing the entirety of your assessment of the story and cast's merits on a single character seems just a tad bit flawed, wouldn't you say?

The problem with Father is that the other villains introduced were even more one-dimensional than he was. If you asked me to describe Lust's personality and motivations, I wouldn't be able to do so. The same is true for Sloth, Gluttony, and Envy, who had a lackluster level of motivation, literally divulged to us as he died. The entire squad of antagonists came off less as a collection of characters, and more as an ensemble of developmentally flat minions, introduced to justify fight scenes and to move the plot along. I hate that, because it robs the series of any moral ambiguity that it could otherwise possess. It's boring and converts a large chunk of the cast into morally simplistic mustache-twirlers.

Quote:

Also, and this is just a side comment, I find it slightly amusing how you scoff at stories where the heroes try and stop the would-be gods antagonists yet sport a Xenogears avatar.

The first disc made the second disc bearable. I can't say the same for FMAB, in which the first 35 episodes bored me to an even greater extent than the second half.

__________________

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I don't want to get in an argument over someone's opinion because an opinion cannot be wrong or right. Of course It's the whole a series is "overrated" because I personally don't like it.

However everyone has a right to think FMA is not as good as fans claim. I however do personally think it is one of the best series ever made. And yes that is a very personal statement as the series means a lot to me. It's more the manga for me than Brotherhood as I was a fan of the manga long before Brotherhood came about. I am extremely happy Brotherhood exists though to introduce more people to the manga storyline.

I followed many many long ongoing series (not just manga/anime wise but also TV series & book wise) and I was always let down in the past. FMA is the one series that never let me down, right to the end I was in love. Does that make me a fangirl? Of course yes it does. But it's not because I have not seen or read enough other series.

I had a large sampling of fiction from anime to manga to literature to critically acclaimed film even starting from the silent era. I love fiction but yes FMA is special to me. That doesn't mean I am going to tell people they are wrong for not thinking it is the best series for them if it is for me because that is a largely personal statement & everyone has their own personal reasons for loving a piece of fiction and no one should tell them they are wrong or they haven't sampled enough other series. It also doesn't mean because I love FMA I don't have strong affection for other pieces of fiction. But my love for FMA is just in its own special place.

And because this is getting long this is something I wrote back on October 3rd 2011 about some of my feelings for the series. Again it pertains more to the manga but since Brotherhood follows the same storyline I hope it alright to post it here:

Spoiler for Ending Spoilers:

The very first thing that attracted me to FMA was the brotherly love between Ed & Al. It was probably the 2nd-4th volume that first really cemented me a fan of the series (don't get me wrong though whereas the first volume didn't make me a fan at first, I now adore that volume and don't know why I couldn't see it's awesomeness back then).

Overall the first anime also focuses on the love between Ed & Al and this is what made the series such a big hit. But one of the reasons why I prefer the manga and why I think FMA is such a remarkably special series is the manga takes things further.

The story starts out about the love of Ed & Al but as the story progresses we realize Ed & Al don't just have each other but so many other characters who love & care about them.

I think people mistakenly think Ed & Al are not as close in the manga because it isn't just focused on them in the story. Of course Ed & Al care about each other but they care about a lot of other characters as well. Let's just say the manga has a much more expansive view of family. And I loved the one opening sequence in Brotherhood when we see just Ed & Al suddenly being surrounded by more and more friends/loved ones/allies.

But to take it one step further all these characters that care about Ed & Al actually have their own back stories and motivations so we learn to care about them too; separate from Ed & Al's story. I know some people think there are too many characters in FMA. But never have I seen such a large cast of characters so well developed (from major to minor characters).

I would say next to Lord of the Rings FMA for me has the most fully developed world. But whereas LOTR developed it's world through mythology and history; FMA makes its world come to life by the many characters that inhabit it (all of different ages, sizes & backgrounds). Ed & Al are what started my love of FMA but as the series developed I fell in love with every character.

Finally what gets on my last nerves (because I am overly sensitive when it comes to FMA) is when people dismiss the FMA manga as just being a story of Good VS evil with no gray. Well personally there was plenty of gray in the story with characters like Greed, Roy, Riza, Scar, etc. But I feel people think this because the story has a relatively happy ending. And a common issue is people mistake darkness for deepness.

Now I have nothing against a dark/dramatic story and I have some favorite series in that category. I would even say my favorite type of endings are usually bitter sweet. However, a happy ending does not suddenly mean a story is not deep. FMA had one of the deepest, most beautiful endings I have seen in fiction. People are disappointed when things mostly go the way of the protagonists, not realizing that things only went their way because they struggled and worked together throughout the entire series. It was not an easy win, but a win with pain & sacrifice. As the series said in the beginning

A Painless Lesson, is one without meaning. One Who does not sacrifice anything cannot achieve anything

The ending did not negate this message , it strengthened it. All the characters did go through so much to get what they achieved. Nothing was gained for free.

However as we see at the end of the story Ed & Al try to overturn the law of equivalent exchange and make it something more positive. Instead of 1:1; if someone gives you 1 you give 2. Because Ed & Al are just awesome like that & are always trying to make things even better.

In the end equivalent exchange is not how the world has to work but how people should live their life. If you get something, try to give back. Work for what you want. And sometimes we might go through something painful, but we might gain something through this experience as well. I always felt FMA was looking at the best of things.

Which again is enforced by what Ed does give up in the end. I actually felt some people in the fandom were more upset about this than Ed. What Ed gave up was a big part of him, but instead of looking at it negatively he realized the positive gain of what he gave up.

In one of the best sequences of the manga, Ed is up fixing the roof with his hands and realizes how much quicker he could get it done if he still could use alchemy...but then he reflects that if he had fixed the roof with alchemy, he would have missed the beautiful view.

This overall positive message permeates FMA: Characters working together and relying on each other, looking at the best of things, not giving up even when things look bad, etc. And trust me nothing I say can truly give my feelings for this series justice. But to conclude Fullmetal Alchemist is a series that fills you with hope and personally I think that is a beautiful thing.

first i din't like how FMA ended on a very incomplete note ,but when i saw brotherhood it was total remake with great continuation and great ending,
basically there is every thing in this series fantasy,comedy action,adventure...etc
everything required for a perfect series

it's characters are great ,everyone has it's own reasons to fight
there were unpredictable twists and turns in the story
and i really liked how they deduced the alchemy scientifically ,it showed how intelligent the alchemists were

the ending was awsome with no loose strings and a complete story

in the end,edward's golden words kept echoing in my mind

"there is no lesson learnt without pain,
but when u have conquered the pain,
you will gain something stronger than anything else,
a FULLMETAL HEART"

Animation Quality: 9
Some of the best animation I've ever seen in anime. So much definition, a lot of contrast and vibrant colors, and fast, fluid, awesome action!

Voice Actors: 10
I watched this in English, and it is one of the best English dubs I've ever seen. Every character had so much emotion, you believed it. It's part of what made it possible for me to care for the characters. You felt so much emotion in all of their voices.

Spoiler:

For example, when Ed started crying when he was talking about his dad never being there, but he now wanted to use himself as a Philosopher's stone to get their bodies back. And the fact that Hoenhien referenced that Ed actually called him a father. This scene made me cry.

Script: 9
Amazing script. Characters were made believable partly because of how good this script was. Characters always held life lessons to tell, and told them with emotion, and in a way where you could get the idea. When anything was explained, it was easy to get. Barley ever was anything left to make you confused.

Soundtrack: 8.5
The music score within the scenes in the anime was usually very good, but it didn't vary too much, and one or two tracks were kind of "Meh..." But, mostly, the tracks were great and added a lot to the emotion when placed with major plot points in the show. But the openings and endings were all great! Usually, with an anime, there's some bad ones - a lot actually. But all these songs were amazing! Really emotional. Very powerful. My favorites are Again, Hologram, Let it Out (the best one, and one of my favorite anime songs ever), Period, and Shunkan Sentimental.

Editing: ?
Never read the manga, so I wouldn't know.

Enjoyment: 10
This anime, I have enjoyed so much, it's almost unfathomable! I LOVE this anime, down to my soul! Enjoyed it the whole way through! Never was a dull point, and the pacing wasn't too fast or too slow! I was interested all the time!

Emotional Involvement: 10
This anime, maybe even more so than my favorite anime, Dragon Ball, has made me feel so much for the characters, and the events happening in the show. I am a 17 year old boy, but I cried like a little kid at so many points during the show! Like I've said, this show is so emotionally powerful, it's crazy! I always felt for the characters so much! They were all great characters. I was glad to have felt for them.

Overall: 9.5
This anime is just amazing. Nearly flawless. This anime will always hold a special place in my heart. <3

The series was massively well put, I don't know why people don't like it. The series was truly great, it reminded me of how our world today is mostly based off of sinister things that this series has in store for us all.